Losing weight is the (not very surprising) secret to living longer

Here’s some added motivation to lose weight: every kilo you drop will add two months to your life, according to major longevity research.

A University of Edinburgh study published in the journal Nature Communicationsconfirms some of the genetic and lifestyle factors likely to make you live longer — and, to be honest, they won’t surprise you much.

According to the study, education will lengthen your life (every year spent studying after school adds almost a year to your lifespan) while smoking will shorten it (a lifetime pack-a-day habit lops seven years off your life expectancy).

Smoking is bad for you? Ground-breaking. But the good news is, if you quit smoking, you’ll probably live as long as someone who never smoked.

The Edinburgh team based their calculations on DNA analysis of more than 600,000 people from around the world, looking at which genetic combinations influenced particular lifestyle choices and the subsequent impact on longevity.

"The power of big data and genetics allow us to compare the effect of different behaviours and diseases in terms of months and years of life lost or gained, and to distinguish between mere association and causal effect,” said University of Edinburgh professor Jim Wilson, a co-author of the study, in a statement.